Common Questions: Why Isn’t My Business Ranking Higher in Ad Placements?

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Has this ever happened to you? As a business owner, you’ve searched for an important keyword that relates to your company, but your website’s pay-per-click ad doesn’t show up. Or – even worse – maybe you’ve heard this concern from an important stakeholder in your business. Does this mean that your online advertising isn’t working? (Answer: Not necessarily.) Should you panic? (Answer: Definitely not!)

Let’s take a quick look at why this could be happening.

Reasons why your Google ads might not show up:

  • Budget: Your ads show based on your bids and the bids of your competitors. If your ad isn’t showing, it may be that you’re simply not paying enough and you’re being outbid by the competition. Plus, it’s possible you’re searching after your daily budget has been reached. At this point, your ad won’t be shown to anyone until the next day.
  • Frequency: Google ads don’t appear on every search. And when ads do show up, your ad still might get outbid by your competitors.
  • History: When you’ve seen your ad in the past, have you clicked on it? If you haven’t, Google might assume that you’re not interested. And they’ll show it to you less! Even making the same searches over and over can affect what ads you see.
  • Location: Is your IP address linked to your ad account? If so, Google won’t want to show you the ad – they want it to appear for real searchers. Secondly, are you in your business’ targeted area? If your search is being done from a different location, then you may not see your ads. Plus, IP addresses aren’t always accurate so Google may think you’re in the wrong location.

So what should you do?

First, do some investigation. Use an incognito or private window to search. This way, your results won’t be skewed by your historical searches. You can also ask someone in a different location (who also hasn’t likely searched for your business often) to do a search and report their findings.

If you’re still concerned, look at your analytics and look at your paid search results. Are your ads resulting in sessions? As long as people are visiting your site from your ads (and there hasn’t been a huge decline in traffic), then you can be confident that your ads are being shown.

Need a little support elevating your brand? Contact Stellaractive for your website and marketing needs!

Stellaractive is a strategy-driven creative agency in Portland, Oregon. We help companies elevate their brand through websites, print, branding, and digital marketing solutions that connect, engage, inform, and inspire. We’ve been helping clients across the U.S. build their online presence for more than 15 years, and we can help you, too. Request a quote or call us at 503-384-2413 today!